From our collaborating partner Living on Earth, public radio’s environmental news magazine, an interview by Jenni Doering with author Kevin Trenberth.
El Niño is a phenomenon every few years in which a tropical region of the Pacific experiences unusually warm ocean surface temperatures, affecting weather patterns across the world.
A 2026 El Niño is now officially underway, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, which also said this one has a greater than 50 percent chance of turning into a “super” El Niño.
Combined with the ongoing rising temperatures from the climate crisis, a “super” El Niño could spell major disruption of weather patterns and ocean circulation worldwide.
Kevin Trenberth is a scientist at the University of Auckland as well as a distinguished scholar at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
